


Reconstruction

by ssa_archivist



Series: Ordinal [6]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Crossover, Drama, Established Relationship, Futurefic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-11-26
Updated: 2003-11-26
Packaged: 2017-11-01 05:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/352324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark, Lex and the Kents begin to rebuild.  The first story with a real name in my continuing series--follows "Fifth."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reconstruction

## Reconstruction

by Hecubus

<http://www.sjlee.org/smallville/>

* * *

Disclaimer: Smallville and its characters are property of the WB and DC Comics. I don't own any of it. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please do not redistribute without my permission. 

Author's notes: The first story with a real name in my continuing series--follows "Fifth." As always, thanks to Kellie for the beta. The rest of the series is available at the Smallville Slash Archive (<http://smallville.slashdom.com/>) or my Web site (<http://www.sjlee.org/smallville/>). 

Summary: Clark, Lex and the Kents begin to rebuild. 

* * *

"Ready to get out of here?" Bruce said as he stepped into the doorway, watching Clark pack the last of his things. 

"Yeah, almost," Clark called back, turning briefly to smile at Bruce. "Lex is downstairs making some calls for when he gets back home." 

"Yeah, I told him to use my study," Bruce said as he walked into the room. "I thought it would give us a chance to talk before you leave." 

"Oh, okay," Clark said, a little surprised. 

"I wanted to see how you were doing," Bruce said gently as he moved closer, leaning back on the bed. "You know, after everything that's happened." 

"Okay, I guess," Clark said, shrugging. "Well, at least, it's over." 

"At least this part." 

"Yeah." 

"Look, Clark, I just want you to know that I understand how you must feel right now," Bruce said. At first, he had seen Clark as a liability and then a rival, but now, after everything that had happened, after he realized how much Lex loved him, he shared a strange kinship with the young man. "And I want you to know that it's okay to feel bad about what happened, especially to Ford, and at the same time, to feel relieved, even glad that we destroyed the facility." 

Clark turned away from Bruce and shut his eyes tightly, to calm his anger at himself, to stop the tears from coming. "Nobody was supposed to get hurt," he whispered. "Nobody was supposed to..." 

Bruce rose gracefully and stood behind Clark, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Clark," he said softly, "you can imagine how I felt when my parents died. But that pain drove me to make a choice, a choice to devote my life to helping people, to bringing criminals to justice. But what I soon realized was that, even with all the conviction in the world, there's no straight path, no clear way laid out in black and white. There are a million gray areas that I often find myself in while I'm trying to achieve the greater good. And in the end, it's okay," he said as he turned Clark to face him. Clark refused to look up. "It's necessary," he continued, "because in reality, who's a bad guy and who's not isn't always clear and we would never be able to accomplish anything if we never let ourselves ride the line." 

"I know. I get that," Clark responded adamantly. "I know I've been perfectly okay bending the rules when I'm trying to help someone too, when there seems like there's no other way. But this wasn't about helping people--this was about helping me, saving me." 

"But it was about helping people, Clark," Bruce insisted. "It was helping all of the people Lionel would have hurt along the way with his research. But most of all, it was about us helping you. Lex, me, your parents for letting Lex bring you here. We all made a choice to help you, to protect you." 

"But I'm not..." Clark started, shaking his head. 

"What? Worth it?" Bruce asked as he lifted Clark's chin to study his face. He was beautiful, surely, but there was something else behind those eyes. He could see how even a man like Lex could be drawn in so deeply. "Maybe, Clark," Bruce said, forcing himself to let go and back away slightly from his friend's lover. "I don't know you well enough to say. But I did this because Lex asked me to. And he seems to think you're worth it." 

"That's a lot to live up to," Clark said, sighing deeply. 

"From what I can tell, it's not about what he thinks you'll live up to. It's what you've already lived up to," Bruce said firmly as he met Clark's gaze. He turned to walk out of the room, but before he did, he imparted one last sentiment: "Lex would give up his life for you. Lex would give up being with you, as friends or otherwise, to protect you. I hope you remember that. Take care of him, Clark." 

* * *

"So, what did you and Bruce talk about?" Lex asked casually as he pulled onto the highway and quickly pushed the Porsche to an easy 80 MPH. A lesser car may have struggled under Lex's lead foot as he remembered seeing his former lover and his current lover standing so closely in Clark and Lex's guestroom. He had come upstairs to help Clark pack the last of his things--after seeing the two talking, he had decided to just wait downstairs for him. 

"Just a little about everything that's happened," Clark said, ignoring Lex's driving and watching the scenery flash by through the window. It was a lot like when he was running. "Mostly you, actually." 

"I don't know whether I should be worried or flattered," Lex said lightly. 

"He seems like a nice guy," Clark said, still looking out the window instead of at Lex. "Well, I don't know about 'nice' in the traditional sense, but good." 

Lex nodded in agreement, but was still searching for a way to make the car ride less awkward. "It's a shame we didn't get to see Gotham while we were here." 

"It certainly seems like... an interesting place." 

"It is. I bet Chloe would have liked to have seen you." 

"Things have never been as good between me and Chloe since..." Clark trailed off, remembering how shocked, how angry he was when he found out Chloe had been working with Lionel. They hadn't kept in touch that much after she moved to Gotham for school. "Look, Lex. Can we not do this?" he asked, rubbing his forehead. 

"Sorry," Lex sighed. He knew he shouldn't be pushing Clark back to normalcy. But he just wanted things back to the way they were. The way they were before... everything. 

"It's okay," Clark said, relaxing a little and reaching out to take Lex's hand in his. "I just need time. To think. To..." 

"I understand, Clark," Lex cut off, squeezing his hand in response. He knew that at the very least, they would get through the ride home. 

* * *

When they reached Smallville, Jonathan and Martha were, as expected, already waiting for them at the farm. Much like when they returned from San Francisco, Clark's parents leapt up to meet them, pulling their son into a great big family hug. Only this time, Lex was included as well. And both Martha and Jonathan broke down in tears to have their boys home. 

* * *

"Lex, wait," Jonathan called out as he ran outside to catch Lex before he got into his car. Lex had excused himself after he had said hello to the Kents and made sure Clark got in okay. 

"Yes, sir?" Lex said, stopping short before getting into the car. 

"I just wanted to thank you again," Jonathan said as he closed the distance between them. "For everything." 

"Please, Jonathan," Lex said, ducking his head awkwardly as he shut the car door. "We all know it wasn't exactly the way we hoped it would have happened." 

"Well, no, it wasn't," Jonathan admitted. "But you did something we could never have done." 

"Well, after Nixon, we already know what I'm capable of." 

"That's not what I was talking about, Lex," Jonathan said, placing a fatherly hand on Lex's arm. "I meant that we could never have done what you did: go up against your father-- I mean, really go up against him-- and win." 

Lex let out a bitter chuckle. "It takes a Luthor to beat a Luthor." 

Jonathan sighed, letting his arm fall back to his side. "Lex," he said, "I know we've been hard on you in the past, but there are a lot of reasons why Martha and I are happy that you and Clark are friends, that you and Clark are together. You really do seem to be in love." Lex looked up surprised to find sincerity on the man's face. "But we've also finally come to realize that Clark's secret and everything that goes along with it is much bigger than anything Martha and I can handle," he continued, looking his son's boyfriend straight in the eye. "He's our son, so we'll continue to protect him as much as we can just like we've done since we found him that day in the cornfield, but he's given part of himself to you now and it's up to you to protect him too. And thankfully, you've already shown us what we knew would be the case: that you would be able to protect him in ways that we can't and never will be able to." 

Lex searched Jonathan's face for something--an answer, an explanation. It was strange to think that Jonathan Kent would truly be okay with, thankful even, for his actions over the past few days. Jonathan didn't kill Nixon when he had the chance, but Lex had. He wondered if Jonathan had been in Lex's place these past few days, if Jonathan had been given the means to do what Lex did, would he have done the same? It was easy for Jonathan to say that he would have, to quell Lex's guilt, but given the same circumstances and resources, he still wondered if a Kent would have done the same thing as a Luthor. 

"I appreciate your vote of confidence, sir," Lex said, sighing. "But... I've told you before and I'll tell you now: I would do anything to protect Clark. And I know that you can understand that--you know how incredible he is and that he's worth doing anything and everything to protect. But..." 

"He'll come around, Lex," Jonathan said, patting Lex's back in a rare show of affection toward the young man, "He just needs time. As parents, Martha and I understand what you--what we all did was necessary. And if it was someone else, Clark would feel the same way, but he's always been more concerned with other people than with himself. He'll come to understand." 

Lex nodded and opened the car door. "I hope so, sir." 

* * *

Clark returned to school and Lex went back to running LexCorp. Talking on the phone, emailing--those ways of keeping in touch didn't feel strained, but during the few times Lex was in Metropolis and the couple was able to get together, there was a strange awkwardness, a feeling that they couldn't avoid talking about what happened when they were together. But they didn't talk about it. Couldn't talk about it. What was there to say? 

Soon, both Clark and Lex became tired of trying so hard to return to normalcy and they both silently agreed to spend some time apart. They both knew they still wanted to be with each other, but they were still in a state of shock, of discomfort, of uneasiness about everything that had happened. They hoped that throwing themselves back into their everyday lives would make them feel normal again. 

* * *

It was late and it was raining. Lex knew that he should probably just stay in Metropolis for the night, but he couldn't get comfortable. The first LexCorp Tower was finished and there were boxes everywhere as everyone prepared for the move. But more than the mess, Lex was uncomfortable because he missed Clark. He could have called him, asked Clark to come over or just stopped by his boyfriend's dorm room, but he was tired of feeling so strange around him, of being with his favorite person in the whole world, the one person he was dying to see, but feeling awkward and uneasy when he finally did. He needed something to remind him of better times. He needed to get back to Smallville and he needed to get back to the castle--even if just to walk around and remember all those special moments before everything that had happened in Gotham, even before they had become lovers. 

But on his way back, he found himself taking a slight detour and stopping by his mother's memorial site. His own tombstone had been removed shortly after his return, but as he walked past where it would one day stand again, where his body would one day lie, a shiver ran through his body. He placed a small bouquet of lilies on the tombstone. Even though they would probably be drenched by the rain, he never came to his mother's grave empty-handed. 

As he stood in the middle of the expansive memorial site and looked up at the massive tombstone, he was both filled with pride that his mother had such an impressive and befitting monument and disturbed at how extravagant it was. While he would have leveled an entire city to put up a monument in memory of his mother, his strong, caring and loving mother, he wondered if this memorial site was to glorify her or the Luthor name. She had always said the Luthors were a breed apart. 

But Lex didn't think his mother was a breed apart in the way that everyone else had come to see the Luthors. Yes, she was incredibly intelligent, elegant and graceful. In fact, the way she carried herself, she was almost regal. But unlike his father, she exuded a certain warmth that made her accessible and likeable. She made you want to be in her favor, to be loved by her, to be taken care of by her. Lex often found himself seeing the same phenomenon in Martha, a feeling only amplified by the brilliant red of her hair so reminiscent of his own before the accident and of his mother's before her death. When they had returned from Gotham, Martha hadn't said much to him, presumably too busy doting over her son. Lex wondered what Martha thought about him, about what he had done. If she could see him now, Lex wondered what his own mother thought about him, about what he had done. 

"I'm so sorry," Lex whispered as tears came to his eyes. All he could see was his mother with a sad, but not surprised look on her face. It was as if she had expected him to do something like this, to go against his father one day and play the game just like his father. 

"I couldn't help myself," he choked out as he sobbed softly. "I was just so scared." 

He knew that if his mother were alive, were with him there in body as well as spirit, she would have taken him into her arms and rubbed his back, rocking slowly back and forth as she comforted her only living son. And he knew that she would probably tell him, like she had so many times, that war is in their nature, as Luthors and as human beings, and that in the same way he acted out of both fear and love, his father did the same. Only Lex was burdened with a sensitivity and conscience that his father had seemed to have lost long ago. He had a strange feeling that his mother's death had been a crucial turning point in their lives. Lex was angry at his father for never loving his mother like she deserved, for never being the man she deserved. Lionel was angry at the world for having lost her and at Lex for being a daily reminder of that loss. 

"I wish you could meet him," Lex said, thinking of Clark as he composed himself. "See him. Talk to him. I think he would have been the kind of man you would have chosen for me." 

* * *

"Clark? What are you doing here?" Lex said as he walked into his bedroom, throwing his jacket on the armchair near his bed. 

"Waiting for you," Clark said, peeking his head out from under the covers. When he didn't find Lex at his apartment, he had run all the way back to Smallville in search of his friend. 

"I went... out," Lex said as he slipped off his shoes and climbed under the covers. 

"Michael said you went to the memorial site," Clark said as he pulled him close, pushing the chill of the rain away and enveloping him in soft warmth. 

"Yeah," Lex said, sighing contently. "I went to... talk to my mom. I'm turning into Lana." 

Clark smiled. "How was it?" 

"Okay," Lex said as he rested his head on Clark's shoulder. "I wonder if she were still alive, if I would be here today. If I would be the kind of man I've become." 

If possible, Clark nuzzled even closer. "Lex, I don't blame you," he said quietly. 

"If anyone deserves blame, it's me, Clark. Not you, not your parents, not Bruce. Me." 

"No, Lex," Clark insisted. "It's not just you. We all had a part in this. We made this decision together." 

"But I'm the one who initiated this particular solution," Lex said, pulling away from the young man and sitting up to look at him. "I'm the one who pushed. If I wasn't around, do you think your parents would have done something like this to protect you?" 

"If it wasn't for you, Lex, we would never have even known!" Clark answered, sitting up as well. "I would already be in a Petri dish somewhere." 

"No, Clark," Lex said, shaking his head as he climbed out of bed. "This was not a Kent solution. This was my solution. This was a Luthor solution." 

"Well, sometimes the Kent solution isn't enough," Clark said seriously as he got out of bed himself. "Especially when dealing with someone like your father." 

"Maybe," Lex said, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "But does it make me any better than him? It just goes to show, in the end, I'm still a Luthor." 

"Lex," Clark said in a tired voice. "I don't know what I need to do or say to convince you that you're not just a Luthor and that you're not your father. I don't know if me or my parents would have done the same thing if you weren't around, but that's because we've never had to face anything like this before. I mean, we've always been afraid of something like this, but it's a very different thing when you're actually faced with the possibility of being taken away and dissected like some lab rat," he said a little angrily. "And my parents feel the same way, Lex," he continued more calmly. "You know that it would be easy for my dad to throw this back in your face, but he knows that we all did what we had to do." He approached Lex slowly and when he didn't shy away, he pulled him close and looked down at him with painfully honest eyes. "And truthfully, as hard as it is for me to come to terms with this, the fact that you could handle the situation, the fact that you did handle the situation makes me feel incredibly relieved, and believe it or not, safe." 

Lex melted into Clark's touch and ran his fingers through his hair. He lingered in the soft curls and sighed. "I told you that night in San Francisco Clark that I would live and die for you," he began softly, but earnestly. "That my love is overwhelming. Maybe even overpowering. I thought that the worst would be what would happen if I ever lost you. I don't know if that's true anymore. I feel like what I might do to keep you, to protect you might be the very thing that pushes you away." 

"You're not going to push me away," Clark said as he tightened his hold. "Just don't push yourself away." 

"I'll try," Lex whispered and then leaned down for a kiss. 

* * *

(a few weeks later) 

"Lex, wake up," Clark said, nudging Lex. 

"Clark, there are no cows here," Lex said in a surprisingly clear voice for someone who had just woken up. "You don't have to get up so early." 

"Ha ha," Clark said, rolling his eyes, but a smile on his face as he rolled his lover over to face him. "Come on, it's moving day." 

Lex opened his eyes immediately, blinking rapidly. "Oh. Right." 

Clark frowned. "What's wrong?" 

"Nothing," Lex said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I don't know. I just thought I would be more excited than this." 

"So did I." 

Lex sighed as he sat up. "I'm sorry, Clark. It's just been a tough couple of weeks. A lot of things have changed." 

"Not everything," Clark said brightly as he got up from the bed. "You still need to move to Metropolis to run LexCorp properly. And you still need to move to Metropolis to see more of me." He walked around the bed and offered Lex his hand, smiling down at him. 

Lex just chuckled at Clark as he was gently pulled out of bed. 

"Lex, I know it's been rough," Clark said as he wrapped his arms around his lover's waist and pulled him close. "These wounds might never heal. But that may be for the best." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lex said, looking up. 

"Nothing," Clark answered, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I'll tell you later. The point is that I am just as excited, more excited to have you move to Metropolis than when you first told us at the farm," he said as he released the older man and started towards the bathroom. "What could be better than having my boyfriend back in the same city again?" 

"The same goes for me, Clark," Lex said as he pulled Clark back towards him, pushing him back onto the bed and kissing him deeply. When he finally pulled away, leaving them both breathless, he smiled an almost wicked grin. "And you know the offer still stands. You can move in with me any time you want." 

"Mmm," Clark hummed as he gave him a brief kiss and laid back, pulling Lex on top of him. "We'll see. You can be very distracting." He deftly flipped them over, pinning Lex onto the bed and dipping his head down to begin kissing his neck. "Let's see if I can make it through the rest of freshman year with you around. At the rate we're going, I could end up spending it in your bed instead of in class." 

Lex arched into Clark's touch, smiling. "Well, we wouldn't want that." 

* * *

After getting ready, Clark helped Lex load a few things into his car and then took off for Metropolis. Despite his concerns, Lex couldn't help but be glad when Clark would surprise him by flying all the way to Smallville just to see him. By the time Clark was done with classes, Lex was almost completely moved into the new penthouse. It helped when you had a huge number of movers and house staff to expedite the process. 

About mid-afternoon, Lex went down to take care of some things for work. In the meantime, his assistant Michael made sure most of the household items were put away and cleaned up and then dismissed the rest of the staff for the evening. Before retiring to his own apartment on one of the lower residential levels, he took one hundred candles and placed them around the penthouse, from the foyer to the living room through the hallway and into the bedroom. He lit each and every one of them, put out two glasses and a bottle of one of their finest wines, and made sure Lex's bed had his softest, favorite sheets. 

By the time Lex came back upstairs, night had fallen and the penthouse was empty, except for a note on the foyer table: 

"Welcome home, sir. Say hello to Clark for me. - Michael." 

Lex smiled. 

* * *

Lex watched the candlelight flicker over his lover's face. After they had finished half of the wine and before they had made their way to the bedroom, slowly kissing and undressing all the way down the hallway, they had put out all of the candles except for the ones in the bedroom. They had made love for hours in the soft candlelight of Lex's new home. Perhaps one day, their new home. 

"Clark?" Lex said. 

"Hmm?" a blissfully sated Clark answered sleepily from across the bed. 

Lex smiled at the view. "Did you really mean it when you said these wounds might never heal?" 

Clark opened his eyes to find Lex staring at him, but calm. "Yes," he answered, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Lex's shoulder, sliding it down to rest on his hip. "But if you remember, as you always do, I also said that it may be for the best." 

"I remember," Lex said as he placed his hand over Clark's. 

Clark paused for a moment as he gently traced Lex's hipbone with his thumb. "I've been thinking. Bruce has got a pretty good gig in Gotham." 

"You're going to leave me for Bruce?" Lex offered lightly. 

"No," Clark said, chuckling. "Listen. Let me finish." 

"Okay," Lex said, smiling as he moved a little closer. 

Clark stared down at nothing in particular as he gathered his thoughts. "I picked journalism because I thought that by covering important news stories, through my writing, I could help people, help change the world." 

Lex thought fondly of how much Clark's writing had matured over the past few years. "I have no doubt that you will." 

Clark smiled to himself at Lex's confidence before continuing. "But that doesn't change who I am. What I am." He paused for a moment to look at his lover. "Lex, my hearing? It's not like the x-ray vision or the heat vision. Sometimes I can't always control it. I hear things." 

"What do you hear?" 

"Mostly idle conversations. Just snippets, bits and pieces," Clark said, shrugging. "But sometimes, a scream. A cry. People in need. People in trouble." 

"And you want to save them," Lex finished for him, reaching out to run a loving hand through his hair. 

"I do," Clark whispered, nodding as he closed his eyes briefly at the pleasure of Lex's touch. 

"So save them," Lex answered gently. "Nothing's stopped you before." He hoped Clark didn't pick up on the ever-present fear in his voice, but heard the silent warning. They had narrowly escaped Lionel once and both the Kents and Lex knew that every time Clark saved someone, he put himself at risk. But they also knew that it wouldn't stop him from doing it. That they couldn't stop him from doing it. And wouldn't. 

"Well, maybe it's time we approach this thing a little more scientifically," Clark said, seriously. "After everything with your father, I know that I want to help people more than ever--by stopping things like the cloning research. Stopping it before it gets to the point it did. And I want to do it without being exposed." 

Lex heard the silent sentiment that Clark wanted to stop it before people had to die like Ford had. "You want to get a disguise?" he asked, remembering this conversation had started with mention of Bruce. 

"I want to get a costume," Clark corrected. 

"You want to be a superhero?" Lex said, raising his eyebrows and remembering this conversation had started with mention of Bruce. 

"Something like that," Clark said sheepishly. 

"Why now?" 

"When I moved to Metropolis, I couldn't sleep at first. All I could hear were the sounds of people in trouble. And I know I did my fair share of superhero-like saves in Smallville, but these people aren't running away from the occasional meteor mutant. They're trying to run away from crime, violence, and disaster, natural or otherwise, more so than ever in Smallville." Clark sighed, thinking of everything he had seen and heard even without his powers. "As a reporter, I think I can help expose the people who are behind all of those things, but where the power of the media comes up short, I think I can fill the gap with my powers. That's what Bruce does as Batman, doesn't he? He's not just a crime fighter. He's a detective. And a guardian for Gotham." 

"And you want to be a guardian for Metropolis?" Lex asked softly. 

"And more if I can do it," Clark agreed, biting his lip nervously. "But it's a start." 

Lex remained silent, mulling over Clark's proposal. 

"Lex, say something," Clark said anxiously. "Tell me what you think." 

Lex looked up at his lover, cool blue eyes serious and intense. "It won't be easy, Clark." 

"But you're not saying I shouldn't do it." 

"No," Lex said firmly. "I'm just saying you'll need my help." 

Clark smiled. 


End file.
